← Back to the rankingInternational School Hilversum
Hilversum, Netherlands · State
Illustration · Hilversum
International School Hilversum (ISH) is a partly state-funded Dutch International School in Hilversum, in the centre of the country. The school says it has been operating for over 40 years, was one of the first international schools in the Netherlands and the first IB school in the country. It offers the full IB continuum from Kindergarten to Grade 12: the Primary Years Programme for ages 4-11, the Middle Years Programme and the Diploma Programme. Teaching is in English; all students learn Dutch, and secondary adds French and Spanish. Besides the international stream there is a bilingual stream, Internationaal Tweetalig VWO, for Dutch children: they follow the same international programme in English, with Latin and the IB Diploma at the end. About 800 students attend, and over the years children of almost 100 nationalities have studied here. STEAM interdisciplinary projects, excursions and Erasmus+ exchanges are an important part of learning.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $4 944–7 048 a year
4 376.58–6 239.07 EUR
Programmes
IB · PYP, MYP, DP
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Dutch, French, Spanish, Latin
Registration fee
≈ $169
150 EUR
About the fees Fees for 2026-2027 for the international stream: KG - Grade 4 4376.58 EUR, Grade 5 4516.60 EUR, Grade 6 5354.98 EUR, Grade 7-10 5573.35 EUR, Grade 11-12 6239.07 EUR per year. From Grade 7 a 425 EUR laptop contribution is added, exams cost 613 EUR in Grade 10 and 850 EUR in Grade 12. For the bilingual Tweetalig VWO stream the school fee is 1084.91 EUR in IT 7-10 and 2568.39 EUR in IT 11-12 plus laptop and excursions. Fees are moderate thanks to partial government funding.
Admissions The international stream is open to families relocating to the Netherlands under government rules: a student with a non-Dutch passport whose parent or parents are temporarily employed in the Netherlands; a Dutch citizen who has been educated in English abroad for at least two years; a family that will leave the Netherlands within two years. Steps: interest form, school response, an intake interview after a non-refundable 150 EUR fee, a registration form with documents (school reports, proof of work and residence), an offer of place and a 500 EUR deposit. English sufficient to follow lessons is needed; placement is by age; support needs must be disclosed in advance, and the school is not suited to intensive support. There is no waiting list, and mid-year entry is possible if there is space. The bilingual Internationaal Tweetalig VWO stream admits Dutch children with a Dutch passport, native Dutch and a vwo recommendation from primary school; registration follows the regional deadline, 25 to 31 March 2027; one class of up to 28 students per year.
Stages and year groups Grades Kg1-Kg2, Grade 1-12. The full IB continuum in English: the Primary Years Programme (Kg1-Kg2 and Grade 1-5, ages 4-11), the Middle Years Programme (Grade 6-10), the Diploma Programme (Grade 11-12). Dutch for all, French and Spanish in secondary. From Grade 7 the bilingual Internationaal Tweetalig VWO stream runs alongside for Dutch children: English instruction in the MYP, with PE, mathematics and Dutch taught in Dutch in the first year, Latin compulsory in Grade 7-10, and the IB Diploma at the end. STEAM projects run through all levels.
Address Emmastraat 56, 1213 AL Hilversum
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · PYP, MYP, DP · authorised programmeCIS · accreditationThe school is listed in the IB register and runs the Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma programmes. The school is accredited by CIS.
school is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
IBInternational Baccalaureate
A Swiss non-profit, working since 1968. Its programmes are among the most widely recognised school programmes in the world. Authorisation is granted stage by stage, so a school with the final stage does not necessarily run the younger ones; which stages this school holds is set out in the line below.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. At this school: PYP (ages 3-12), MYP (ages 11-16), DP (ages 16-19). PYP is the primary stage, ages 3 to 12. It is not a set of subjects but a frame for the whole school: learning is built around lines of inquiry, and there are no exams at the end. MYP is the middle stage, ages 11 to 16. There are no exams here either; at the end an optional electronic assessment of pupils' work is possible. DP is the final stage, ages 16 to 19: six subjects plus a compulsory core of theory of knowledge, an extended essay and CAS. The diploma is accepted by universities all over the world, and in a number of countries it counts for admission on the same footing as the local leaving certificate.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →CISCouncil of International Schools
It accredits international schools and is a paying association at the same time. It examines governance and ownership, the curriculum, teaching, student wellbeing, staff and premises; a team of volunteers from other CIS accredited schools visits the school. Membership and accreditation are different things here, and schools confuse them more often than anything else.
What the badge means for this school. The school has been through this organisation's accreditation. It was judged as a whole: governance, safeguarding, staff, premises, teaching. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →Exams and destinations from the school's official website
The school publishes nothing about where its leavers go: no share going on to university, no exam results, no list of universities.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
✓Sports hall
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
✓Theatre or assembly hall
✓Library
·Cateringnot stated on the website
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Art studio · Makerspace
Campus: The school is in green Hilversum, 20 minutes from Amsterdam and Utrecht. Modern classrooms, art, theatre and design spaces, gyms, a library and a flex techspace with 3D printing and electronics for STEAM projects; local outdoor facilities are used for nature exploration. Through the school group the school has access to shared services: student transport, student support and coaching. It is a day school with no boarding.
Clubs and activities: ISH Student Council · Sustainability Committee · Rainbow Alliance · STEAM Club · Friends For Life Club · Model United Nations Club · Book Club · Spirit Committee · Alberdingk Times · Chess Club · ISH Cricket Club · The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
·Students per teacher or class sizenot stated
What the listings show: teachers hold a recognised teaching qualification and work with the IB approach
The school describes highly qualified international teachers from diverse backgrounds; staff need a recognised teaching qualification and fluent English. The school does not give staff numbers or class sizes for the international stream.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
·Nurse or medical roomnot stated on the website
✓Counsellor
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
Wellbeing is supported by a well-being coach whom any student can see; the MYP has a mentor programme led by the deputy head, and the DP has a DP team and a careers counsellor. New students get a buddy from day one through the Friends For Life programme. The school is CIS accredited, and the CIS review covers safeguarding.
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)95 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data60 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)90 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data80 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 8 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
The full methodology → Similar schools in the country